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A.J. Pierzynski
Anthony John (A. J.) Pierzynski (born December 30, 1976) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Pierzynski has previously played for the Minnesota Twins (1998–2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), Chicago White Sox (2005–2012) and Texas Rangers (2013). Pierzynski is known for having a strong and colorful personality, a fact he acknowledges. During his turn at the microphone following the White Sox victory parade in 2005, he thanked team personnel "for putting up with me." His Chicago manager, Ozzie Guillen, summed up the situation as, "If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less." Guillen also acknowledged Pierzynski's value to the club, despite being relatively high-maintenance: "A.J.'s been great for me. He's worth the work because he always shows up for you." Pierzynski graduated from high school in 1994 and signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Tennessee. He was also selected by the Minnesota Twins in the third round (71st overall) of that year's MLB Draft and chose to sign with the ballclub on June 9. He began his minor league career with the Gulf Coast League Twins and spent the next four years playing for the minor-league Elizabethton Twins, Fort Wayne Wizards, Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats, and Salt Lake Buzz. After four years in the Twins organization, he was called up to the Major League team, and made his debut on September 9, 1998, when he was 21 years old. He then spent the next five seasons, through the 2003 season, with Minnesota, though he was not a regular starter until 2001. From 1998-2000, he appeared in just 49 games for the Twins. In 2002 he made the American League All-Star Team as a reserve catcher. In the 2002 American League Division Series, Pierzynski hit an important home run in the ninth inning of the final game, in which the Twins clinched the series. In 2003, Pierzynski reached a .312 batting average, a career high that still stands. San Francisco Giants After the 2003 season, the Twins traded Pierzynski to the San Francisco Giants for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser.6 With the Giants he hit .272 with 11 home runs and 77 RBIs. He spent one season in San Francisco before being non-tendered. Chicago White Sox Pierzynski was signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox on January 6, 2005. When he signed with the White Sox, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story claiming that the catcher had kneed Giants trainer Stan Conte in the groin during a spring training game in 2004. Although the incident allegedly happened during the game, it went completely unreported for nearly an entire year in the press. Pierzynski has disputed the allegations publicly. "Don't you think if something like that happened, in spring training, you would have heard about it? I would have gotten in some sort of trouble?" In 2006, Pierzynski was named one of the five American League players in the All-Star Final Vote. Soon afterwards the Chicago White Sox organization began an election campaign using the slogan "Punch A.J." Pierzynski received 3.6 million votes, the most votes in the American League, subsequently sending him to his second All-Star appearance. The "Punch A.J." campaign was inspired by an incident on May 20, 2006 between Pierzynski and Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett. After a fly ball out, Pierzynski tagged up at 3rd and tried to score on the throw. After a collision at home, where Pierzynski knocked Barrett from his feet, Pierzynski slapped home plate with his hand. After getting up, Barrett grabbed Pierzynski and punched him in the face. A bench-clearing brawl ensued, and Pierzynski, Barrett, White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson and Cubs first baseman John Mabry were ejected. Pierzynski caught Mark Buehrle's no-hitter on April 18, 2007, but not his perfect game on July 23, 2009. He caught Philip Humber's perfect game on April 21, 2012 against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, as well. On May 28, 2007, in a game versus the Minnesota Twins, Pierzynski twice ran down the first base line with his feet on the inside of the base, possibly nipping Twins first baseman Justin Morneau with his spikes. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was furious with the umpires, which resulted in a long tirade. However, he was not ejected. Pierzynski denied any attempt to step on Morneau. Pierzynski holds the AL record for consecutive errorless chances with 962, breaking Yogi Berra's previous record of 950, set in 1959. Among active catchers with at least 600 games played, going into the 2010 season he was third with a .995 career fielding percentage, behind Mike Redmond (.996) and Joe Mauer (.995), and ahead of Brad Ausmus (.994). Pierzynski agreed to a two-year contract to remain with the White Sox after the 2010 season. On June 13, 2012, Pierzynski was rated the most hated player in Major League Baseball. In 2012, Pierzynski homered in 5 consecutive games, tying the franchise record and becoming the 6th player to achieve this feat. His teammate Paul Konerko was the most recent Sox player to achieve this feat in 2011. Pierzynski won a Silver Slugger Award at catcher, his first. He hit .278/.326/.501 in 135 games, all but 5 behind the plate, with 27 HR and 77 RBI. Texas Rangers Following the 2012 season, Pierzynski agreed to a one-year contract for 2013 with the Texas Rangers worth $7.5 million. Boston Red Sox On December 3, 2013, Pierzynski agreed to a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, pending the completion of a physical examination. The deal became official the next day.